Hyundai Azera

Shopping for a 2012 Hyundai Azera? MSRP: $32,000

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The Hyundai Azera is a large front-wheel-drive sedan that shares some running gear with the former mid-size Sonata. Until the 2009 Hyundai Genesis arrived in the U.S. market, the Azera was Hyundai's biggest, most expensive and most luxurious sedan. It's sold in its home market of South Korea as the Grandeur.

Preceded in luxury by an archaic XG300 and an XG350 sedan, the Azera came to the U.S. market in the 2006 model year, aimed primarily at the mid-size sedans from Buick and at the Toyota Avalon. It was introduced with a 263-horsepower, 3.5-liter V-6, while other world markets also got the Azera with smaller six-, four-cylinder and diesel engines. In the U.S. the sole transmission was a five-speed automatic with Shiftronic controls. Relatively well equipped, and relatively plain inside, the plush-riding Azera sported a base price tag of about $25,000 in its first model year.

While its relaxed handling and quiet styling have remained largely unchanged, the Azera has been detailed more finely since its introduction. New steering-wheel controls arrived in 2007; a new navigation system with voice controls showed up in the 2008 model year, along with a new base engine, a 234-hp, 3.3-liter V-6. In 2009, Hyundai adapted the grille on the Azera, added blue backlighting for its gauges, and updated the audio and entertainment controls to include Bluetooth connectivity and iPod controls.

Though it ranks among the class leaders for safety features, the current Azera doesn't top most competitors with crash-test scores. In Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) tests, the Azera was rated
"good" for frontal-offset protection, though it earned lower scores of "acceptable" for side and rear tests. In federal (NHTSA) tests, the Azera received five stars for front-seat protection in side impacts and four stars for rear-seat protection, as well as four stars for frontal impact protection.

For the 2011 model year the Azera received a light refresh that included a new grille,  headlights, LED taillights, and fog lamps, plus "high-gloss" window trim, a new trunk lid design and new alloy wheels. Powertrain changes were more substantial: the V-6 engines in the 2011 Hyundai Azera lineup became more powerful and consumed less gas. The 3.3-liter produced 260 horsepower and 233 pound-feet of torque (almost as many horsepower as the larger engine the year before) and had fuel economy figures that improved by two in both the EPA city and highway cycles, to 20 mpg city, 28 highway. The larger 3.8-liter V-6 was bumped up to 283 horsepower and 263 pound-feet, with ratings up 2 mpg in city driving and a mile per gallon on the highway, to 19/27 mpg.

Even with those extensive changes, for the 2012 model year, a new Azera made the trip across the Pacific. A standout new design brought the big four-door into an entirely new generation of design, with echoes of the smaller Sonata and Elantra in its lines. The new interior matches or equals the sheetmetal for its about-face on the Azera's formerly staid styling, and interior materials are even better than before.

Even better, the Azera's dynamics have been brushed up, lifting it out of the Avalon/Impala category into a competitive set with the better four-doors in the near-luxury class, like the LaCrosse and Taurus. The Azera's 3.3-liter 'Lambda' V-6 makes 293 horsepower, as well as 255 pound-feet of torque, and its six-speed automatic has a wide range of gear ratios to allow quick takeoffs, strong passing ability, and relaxed cruising. Hyundai's learning quickly how to tune electric power steering, and this setup feels much better than the one in the Sonata, with much better on-center feel; the Azera's suspension is tuned more finely, too.

Spacious and well-fitted, the Azera gives shoppers a reason to look at something a little more expensive than a Sonata, not just for cubic feet of passenger space or trunk space, but for features, too. A rearview camera system is standard on all models, as are a navigation system, pushbutton start; heated front and rear seats; a 450-watt audio system; and power front seats. Ambient lighting, Infinity sound, a panoramic sunroof and ventilated seats are on the options list.